"Do I have the honour of asking you out tomorrow?" Nat had picked Aika up from work and had dinner before sending her home.

"It depends on where we're going?" Aika joked as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"I have a full day of fun planned out, if that interests you?" Nat tilted his head playfully.

"What time do we set off? Should I pack breakfast for the three of us?" Aika looked at Jamie, who was in the backseat, excitedly.

"It's going to be just the two of us tomorrow. You and me, alone." Nat smiled as Jamie gave her father a wink.

"Two...what about Jamie?" Aika was confused.

"I'm having a play date with Calvin tomorrow!" Jamie was squirming happily in her car seat.

"We've always been going on dates as three, I realised that we needed time together, alone. Jamie's nanny kindly offered to be with her the whole day tomorrow so we could spend time together." Nat held Aika's hand.

Ever since Nat and Aika started dating, 90% of their dates were with Jamie. Not that either of them minded, but Nat always felt sorry that he couldn't freely go on solo dates with Aika on the weekends.

"Sounds equally good to me. I'll see you tomorrow." Aika broke into a smile and reached over to kiss Nat on the cheek before getting out.

"Have fun and don't miss me tomorrow!" Jamie whispered to Aika as the latter hugged her.

"Tell me more about this Calvin next time..." Aika winked before closing the back door.

"Ate, do you have any plans tomorrow?" Tricia was lying on the sofa after finishing a 48 hour shift.

"I'm going out with Nat...what's up?" Aika eyed her sister suspiciously.

"I wanted to ask if you were interested in joining us for a bakery tour..." Tricia pouted.

"Us? Why would I be a lightbulb at your date in the first place?" Aika cringed at the thought of being stuck between Tricia and her boyfriend.

"I was just being nice...Mama, ate's bullying me again!" Tricia called out to their mother.

"Excuse me, I'm the lonely one with both of you going out tomorrow. Where's Jill, I miss her." VP Leni picked up her phone and called their bunso.

"So where are you going with kuya and the sweetie pie tomorrow?" Tricia made space for Aika on the sofa.

"Nat didn't tell me. He just said we were going to have fun alone. Jamie has a play date tomorrow." Aika shrugged.

"Ooh, a date with just the two of you?" Tricia sat up and snuggled closer to Aika.

"I don't know where this conversation is going but something tells me I should run away." Aika leaned away.

"I mean, it's great that you two get to go on a date without Jamie. She's utterly adorable but sometimes you two just need undisturbed time together." Tricia pursed her lips.

"That's what Nat said too. I haven't really thought about that but you two are right..." Aika never minded that Jamie was always there but it also meant that she and Nat couldn't give each other their undivided attention. If she and Nat were serious about their relationship, this protected time was important.

"Enjoy your date, ate. Make beautiful memories!" Tricia gave Aika a tiny hug before heading upstairs to call her boyfriend.

~

"Hey, what do I have to bring tomorrow?" Aika had washed up and was lying on her bed while talking to Nat.

"Hmm, come in workout clothes and bring a spare set to change into...the rest is a secret!" Nat turned on the video call.

"Seriously?" Aika scoffed as she saw the smug expression on Nat's face through the screen.

"I promise you won't be disappointed... TITA AIKA! GOOD NIGHT!" Nat was speaking halfway when Jamie interrupted and grabbed the phone.

"Good night, Jamie! Remember to tell me all about it next time, okay? Love you!" Aika waved to Jamie.

"Love you too!" Jamie sent Aika a flying kiss as she passed the phone back to Nat.

"What about me? Where's my I love you?" Nat pouted.

"I'll tell you if you tell me where we're going tomorrow." Aika bargained.

"Nice try, Jessica." Nat shook his head.

"Ok then, goodbye Nathaniel." Aika followed suit and called Nat by his full name.

"Wo ai ni" Nat whispered as loud enough for Aika to hear in Chinese.

"Mahal kita" Aika returned the greeting her own mother tongue.

~

"Just remember to tell me if you're not coming home!" VP Leni called out to Aika as she left the house.

"See you tomorrow!" Tricia added on cheekily.

"Mama, Patty, please!" Aika whined at their teasing, her face turning pink.

"Morning, beautiful." Nat had his hands open as he leaned against his car.

"Morning, Mr Secretive." Aika naturally slid into Nat's arms and gave him a long hug.

"I hope you had a good sleep because we're going all out today!" Nat opened the door for Aika and gently closed it after she entered.

"What's first on the agenda?" Except for a change of clothes, Aika literally came empty-handed.

"You'll know when we reach...for now, here's your coffee and breakfast!" Nat had dropped by their usual haunt before coming over.

"Did you get this from our favourite? The bread..." Aika was holding a heart-shaped bread in her hand as she looked at Nat.

"I put in an order for a very special Ms Robredo and the owners were more than happy to customise this one." Nat grinned as he remembered the sweet elderly couple being excited about his request.

"Starting off strong, I see..." Aika nodded slowly as she took her phone out to snap a picture. Tricia was going to be jealous.

"We're here!" Nat pulled up outside a building resembling a container.

"Climbing?" Aika read the sign and immediately felt her adrenaline rising.

"A acquaintance of mine owns this place. I begged him to open 30 minutes earlier today." Nat held Aika's hand and led her inside.

"Hey! Ooh, this must be your very special lady?" A man who looked equally muscular as Nat greeted the couple.

"Meet Aika, my girlfriend...and this guy here is Louis, my buddy!" Nat introduced the two to each other.

"Thank you for accommodating us and dealing with this guy's funny requests." Aika smacked Nat lightly on the arm.

"No problem at all! He helps me out all the time!" Louis handed Nat and Aika their equipment.

"Do you know how to climb?" Nat was helping Aika check her equipment.

"I've tried it a few times but with the harness...bouldering is a first for me." Nat got up from his kneeling position and stretched out his hand.

"Since you helped me during spin classes, it's time I return the favour." Nat shuddered as he remembered the first time he joined Aika for spin classes.

"For once, you actually look cool exercising..." Aika couldn't help but clap her hands as Nat skillfully landed onto the mat after his superman stunt on the low bouldering wall. It was as if he was flying over those tiny grips.

"For once? That's mean! Come, your turn!" Nat helped position Aika at the bottom of the wall.

"Ahhh! Where do I go next?" Aika was halfway on the wall and semi-panicking.

"Here take this one." Nat gave up his grip for Aika.

"Sorry for making you look like a monkey..." Aika chuckled as she looked at Nat, who was hanging on one arm.

"Monkey? I can be a koala if you want!" Nat swung his body over Aika and placed his hand on a grip next to hers. Nat's entire body was now covering Aika's entire body, somewhat like a clingy koala cub clinging onto its mother.

"What are you doing..." Aika could feel Nat's body leaning on her but couldn't turn back because she was trapped.

"I'm definitely not trying to back hug you, I'm just taking a break while crossing over to the other side..." Nat whispered into Aika's ear, pressing his body even closer to hers but careful not to squish her.

"I'm sorry to disturb you lovebirds up there but the safety freak in me thinks this is a bad idea...Nat, I'm giving you 3 seconds to move!" Louis called out 5m from below.

"See, I told you." Aika stuck her tongue out at Nat as he obediently shifted his body.

"How do you like climbing?" Nat and Aika were taking a short breather at the side. Customers were streaming in after the gym officially opened.

"Thank God for the masks..." Nat adjusted Aika's mask slightly as he noticed the sudden influx of people.

"Relax, Mr Protective..." Aika knew that Nat was just worried about her safety.

"Wow! That guy in black is hot! Have you seen his muscles? Should I try to get his number?" Aika overheard the ladies next to her talk about Nat. He and Louis were having a competition on the bouldering wall, attracting the attention of all the customers. Aika couldn't help but notice the whispers about her boyfriend...

After winning, Nat jumped down from the wall and headed to where Aika was standing. Before he could reach Aika, he was approached by the same group of ladies who were talking about Nat earlier.

"Hi, could we get your number? You're totally our style..." One of the ladies offered her phone to Nat. Nat immediately looked towards Aika.

"Sorry but I have a girlfriend." Nat turned down the ladies politely before making his way to where Aika was.

"Wow, I feel like public enemy..." Aika noticed the stares of envy she was getting.

"I must be the public enemy of half the male population in Philippines then." Nat joked, knowing that the Robredo girls were eligible bachelorettes of the country.

"Thanks for today, Louis." After freshening up, Aika and Nat were getting ready to leave.

"No worries, it's my honour." Louis grinned.

"We'll come back with my sister and her boyfriend next time!" Aika promised as they waved goodbye.

~

"Leather crafting?" Nat and Aika were in front of a studio situated in a nearby mall.

"I was hoping to gift you something like a necklace but I know that the necklace you now have means a lot to you and the family. So I thought you could choose something that you like and we could make one for each other!" Nat pointed to the array of leather accessories laid out.

"Looks like we are more similar than we think..." Nat and Aika both picked out a bracelet and a keychain.

"Hey, no peeking!" Nat jokingly hid the bracelet meant for Aika with his hands.

"Ok, fine!" Aika turned her focus back to the bracelet she was making for Nat.

"Ouch!" At Nat's yelp, Aika turned her head immediately.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Nat nodded as he held his finger. Instead of hammering the mold, he struck his own finger.

"You're worse than Jamie..." Aika sighed as she carefully looked at Nat's finger. Thank goodness it was nothing serious.

After a good hour of Nat and Aika trying their best to hide their creations from each other, it was time for them to exchange gifts.

"I've never seen a couple like you two..." Their crafting teacher swooned as she handed the finished products to Nat and Aika.

Aika looked at the words engraved on the bracelet that Nat had made for her. On the front was 12.01.88 and on the back was jmgr☆.

The teacher had given Nat two bracelets instead of one, one smaller in size than the other. Nat immediately knew it was for Jamie. On his, the words luca and 09.01.89 while Jamie's had brave and loved.

"Most couples usually put both their initials and anniversary date but you guys chose to only engrave each other's birthday...And how is it that both of you chose anchors for the shape of these keychains?" The teacher couldn't help but squeal. Nat and Aika themselves didn't expect to match either.

"Thank you for thinking about Jamie too...I'm sure she'll love it. Also, why Luca?" Nat was looking at the words engraved on both bracelets.

"Because you said that Luca reminded you of your mother..." Aika recalled that Nat had told her about the name that his mother had given him. The only thing that Nat vaguely remembered about his mother was the way she'd call him Luca in the most loving voice.

"I love it..." Nat hadn't heard someone call him Luca in a long time.

"Funny how none of us did what other couples usually do..." Aika recalled the teacher's words. Both of them knew very well why they avoided the cliche...

"At least our keychains have some semblance of cheesiness?" Nat looked at the back of their keychains, chuckling when both had the date they first met...25.01.21

~

Night had fallen as Nat and Aika pulled up to the last surprise for the day.

"This is the highlight of today." Soft music was playing from inside the cozy-looking cafe. Nat opened the door and Aika was amazed, it was a minimalist-style cafe with only about 20 tables and a small stage where a live performance was happening.

"Give me a minute..." Nat led Aika to a table by the corner and pulled out the chair for her before dashing off towards the direction of the counter.

Aika's eyes followed Nat and was surprised to see the barrista allow him behind the counter.

"Special order for Ms Robredo?" Nat returned with two cup of coffee, a heart shape drawn on top with milk foam.

"Wow, you even know how to make coffee?" Aika mused as she took a picture of the latte.

"I'm a man of many talents but I only use them for one person." Nat winked as he took off the apron and sat opposite Aika.

"The food looks amazing here...Are you going to cook by any chance too?" Aika was peeking at the tables around them and gave Nat an eyebrow raise.

"I'm sorry but local cuisine is too high level for me...the head chef is amazing though!" Nat handed the menu to Aika.

"How did you find this place? And convince them to let you make the coffee yourself?" Aika was happily enjoying her food and coffee.

"It's owned by one of my team members and I knew you'd love it here so I asked him for a favour..." Nat grinned.

"The music choice here is literally Patty and Jill's style..." The lady on stage was on a Taylor Swift medley.

"We could always bring them here next time...let me just head to the toilet for a second." Aika nodded as Nat excused himself.

"For the next song, we have a special guest..." At the sudden announcement from the lead singer, Aika looked up from her food. She almost dropped her spoon when she saw Nat on the stage...

"Hi, I just wanted to dedicate a song to a very special someone...this is for you, love." Nat bit his lip anxiously as the band started playing.

There I was again tonight

Forcing laughter, faking smiles

Same old tired, lonely place

Walls of insincerity, shifting eyes and vacancy

Vanished when I saw your face

All I can say is, it was enchanting to meet you

Nat caught Aika's eyes and smiled, feeling the nerves disappear as he saw Aika break into a smile as well.

It was enchanting to meet you

All I know is, I was enchanted to meet you

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

That this night is flawless, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you

Aika could feel tears welling up in her eyes as Nat reached the last verse.

Please don't be in love with someone else

Please don't have somebody waiting on you

"Thank you for everything. You're the best thing that happened to me..." Nat looked into Aika's eyes. Amidst the cheers of the other diners, Nat hurried off the stage in embarrassment.

"You look like the tomato in our salad." Aika teased a shy Nat.

"I didn't go out of tune, did I?" Aika shook her head and reached out to give Nat a quick peck on the lips.

"I loved it. Thank you, love." Nat felt himself turning even redder. He had been practicing for days and was glad it paid off.

~

"Are you tired? Why don't you take a nap and I'll wake you up when we reach your house?" It had been a long day for both of them.

"I'm good. I'm still not over this..." Aika showed Nat the recording she had of him singing earlier.

"Wait...This is illegal!" Nat was trying his best not to get distracted on the road.

"Illegal indeed. I'll send it to you. Good things should be shared!" Aika chuckled as she took Nat's phone. His password wasn't a secret to her anyways.

"Oh, Jamie's nanny is calling...Hey, sweetie!" Aika picked up the call and grinned when Jamie's face popped up on the screen.

"Tita Aika! Are you coming over?" Jamie was in her pajamas and looked ready for bed.

"Isn't it bedtime for you already?" Nat called from the driver's seat.

"Can you come over please? Please...I promise that I'll go to sleep after I see tita Aika!" Jamie had her best puppy eyes on as Nat and Aika exchanged glances.

"Okay, Daddy and I are on the way back so how about you drink your milk first? I have something for you too!" Aika waved goodbye as Jamie nodded excitedly and gave the phone back to her nanny.

"This girl is unstoppable..." Nat sighed as Aika ended the call.

"Just like her father." Aika retorted.

"Tita Aika!" Jamie ran into Aika's arms as Nat opened the door. Aika picked up the girl and was greeted with a huge hug.

"Did you have fun with Calvin today?" Aika asked as she put Jamie down and greeted her nanny. The older lady left after saying goodbye.

"I did but Calvin can wait! May I have my present please?" The girl stretched her hand out.

"Of course you can." Nat took out the bracelet that Aika had made earlier and put it on for her.

"Your tita Aika made this just for you...it says loved and brave, just like who you are." Nat read out the words for Jamie.

"THANK YOU!" Jamie gave Aika another hug.

"You're welcome. Now can we go to bed?" Jamie nodded as she ran into her bedroom holding Aika's hand. Over time, Jamie had gotten pretty used to having Aika being next to her as she fell asleep.

"Good night, sweetheart..." Aika and Nat took turns to kiss Jamie goodnight as they left the room.

"I can get home myself, you stay with Jamie...You must be equally tired as well." Aika grabbed her bag and got ready to leave.

"I really enjoyed every moment I spent with you..." Nat muttered as he took Aika into his arms for a goodbye hug.

"Me too...I was really happy today." Aika whispered back as she tip-toed to give Nat a kiss. Just as Aika was about to pull back, Nat had caught her by the waist, escalating the short connection to one that was long and passionate.

"Stay for the night?" Nat asked breathlessly as they broke apart.

"I would love to." Aika answered, equally breathless. Smiling, Nat captured Aika's lips one more time as Aika dropped her bag onto the floor.

comments greatly appreciated!

love you guys and thanks for 1k